THE GREAT COMMISSION

We have now examined the Church as God's ordained instrument of future
blessing to all creation and the individual Christian as a revelation from God of the
person and ministry of His beloved Son, Jesus. We must now consider how these many
individuals can be equipped to take their rightful place within the Body of Christ.

BEING SENT

" All power is given to me in heaven and in earth, Go therefore and teach
all nations...." (Matthew 28:18-20). This is what we think of as the great
commission. We are to go out, tell people about Jesus and get them "saved".
Unfortunately the world is not interested in "hearing" about Jesus. It
takes more than just words. We need to re-examine our understanding of
the "Great Commission".

It is important to read the Bible in context. Each account of the commission
is related to the other.

At the end of John's Gospel we see. "As the Father has sent me , I also
send you" (John 20:21-23). In what way was Jesus "sent" ? Jesus said,"
My food is to do the will of him who sent me, and to finish his work" (John
4:34). Again he said," I must work the works of him who sent me..." (John
9:4).

Jesus was sent by the Father to do the works the Father would have done
if he were physically presence.

The work that Jesus came to do was to glorify the Father in the earth.
As He said, "I have glorified You in the earth. I have finished the work
You gave me to do (John 17:4)". As Jesus was "sent" by his Father, so we
are "sent" by Jesus. Our work is the same. We are here to "Glorify Christ
who sent us". Jesus said "those who believe in me will do the works that
I have done and even greater works" (John 14:12). We are "sent" to do what
Jesus would do if he were physically presence.

In His wisdom Jesus has diffused His authority and power throughout
His Church so that instead of there being only one "Christ" in the world,
there is a multitude of "little Christs" all doing the work of the original.
Jesus is no longer "limited" by His earthly body but is available to many
through His "Spiritual Body" the Church. There is no country on earth where
His power and authority is not available, because there is no country on
earth where His Church is not established.

But we must "wait" for His empowering. This empowering is vital if we
are to fulfill the great commission fully. At the end of Luke's Gospel
we see. "Repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name
among all the nations ... but wait in Jerusalem until you are endued with
power from on high." (Luke 24:47-49).

We are living in the "dispensation" of the Church. Jesus has commissioned
us to do His work in the world. We are here to "dispense" (give out) Jesus'
power and authority to those around us. We can not give to others what
we have not received ourselves. We need the Holy Spirit's power.

Jesus gives us "signs" to show that we have authority to act for him.
As was said before in chapter 11 signs are important in God's work. Signs
are like "credentials" to prove our calling from God.

At the end of Mark's Gospel Jesus said, "Go into all the world and preach
the Gospel to every creature ..... and these signs shall follow those who
believe. In my name they shall cast out devils, they shall speak with new
tongues. They shall take up snakes, and if they drink any deadly thing
it shall not hurt them. They shall lay hands on the sick and they shall
recover" (Mark 16:17-18). These signs show that we are Christ's ambassadors
here in the earth, acting not under our own authority but in His Name.

Now we can "Go therefore and teach all nations...." (Matthew 28:18-20)
in His name. We have the authority and power to do so.

This then is the "Great Commission".

Jesus calls us to himself. The great commission is not a "general" call
to the church. It is a "Personal" call to individuals to fulfill His will.

Jesus anoints us and empowers us by his Spirit. Our "credentials" for ministry
are "Signs and Wonders" (Mark 16:17-18).

Jesus then "sends" us out into the world under instruction, to "do the
will of him who sent us" (John 5:30). We do not act under our own authority,
but under Christ's authority (and with His super-natural backing).

WITNESSES

The dictionary defines a witness as "a person who is present at an event
or a person giving sworn testimony".

Jesus said, "Ye shall receive power, after the Holy Spirit is come upon
you and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea,
and in Samaria and unto the uttermost part of the earth". (Acts 1:8)

So what does it mean to be a witness for Christ ? The Apostle John answers
this fairly well by saying "That which was from the beginning, which we
have heard, which we have seen with our eyes ... and our
hands have handled ... That which we have seen and heard declare
we unto you" (1 John 1: 1 - 3). To witness for Jesus is to give testimony
of what we ourselves have seen and heard and experienced of the Son of
God. We can not bear testimony of his life on earth for we were not there.
For that we rely on the testimony of others who were "present at those
events". Neither can we truely give testimony to his death, for we were
not there either. However, we, like Paul, can truely say that we bare witness
to the risen, glorified Jesus. Our own testimony of those things which
Jesus has done for us are important. Of these things we are witnesses.

DIVINE APPOINTMENTS

We know that there are appointed times for all things. "A time to be born,
a time to die. A time to plant and a time to pull up. A time to kill and
a time to heal. A time to break down and a time to build up. A time to
weep and a time to laugh .... A time of war and a time of peace " (Eccleseastes
3:1-8).

So it is with all the things of God. He has appointed the times and
the seasons for all things and nothing happens without His express permission.
"For God has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the
face of the earth, and has determined their pre appointed times and boundaries
of their habitation" (Acts 17:26).

We must keep this in mind when we are sharing the Gospel with those
around us. There is a time and a season for everything. At one time in
a persons life they may be more receptive to the truth than at any other.
At this time they will most probably accept Jesus as their Lord. At another
time they may hear the same message, without effect.

This is not our concern. We are to be witnesses only. We tell people
what we have seen, heard and experienced (1 John 1:1-3). We are not the
ones who convert. This is the work of the Holy Spirit (John 16:7-11). Therefore
we should not be deterred if those to whom we speak do not respond to our
message. The time may not be right. Some other Saint may have the privilege
later of leading these people to Faith when the time is right.

For us to be effective in our proclamation of the Gospel we must be
in the right place at the right time. To do this we must be led by the
Spirit. By far the best Biblical example of this is the encounter between
Philip and the Ethiopian on the road down from Jerusalem (Acts 8:26-40).
Philip was led by the Spirit to speak to the Ethiopian at a time when he
was most receptive to the truth of Jesus. This was a "Divine Appointment".

We encounter Divine appointments from time to time. When they occur
everything fits together like a well oiled machine. We must be ready for
these times. As Peter wrote "Sanctify the Lord in your hearts and be ready
to give an answer to every man who asks you for a reason of the hope that
is within you with meekness and fear" (1 Peter 3:15).

GOD'S MERCY

The reason that God has chosen to use us weak human vessels and his
Holy Spirit in the way that he has is because of his
great mercy. If God were to appear in person before someone, or speak directly
to them His holiness would destroy them. In his mercy, he has called us
out of the world, equipped and empowered us with His Holy Spirit, and "sent"
us out into the world to do His will.

Without God, mankind is destined for destruction. If God were to come
in person to correct this, His holiness would destroy us. So God has done
the only thing possible. He has taken human vessels, equipped and empowered
them with supernatural authority from His Spirit and "sent" them back into
the world to do what He himself would do if he were physically present.